Malachi 1:7

1:7 You are offering improper sacrifices on my altar, yet you ask, ‘How have we offended you?’ By treating the table ¹  of the Lord as if it is of no importance!

Malachi 2:5

2:5 “My covenant with him was designed to bring life and peace. I gave its statutes to him to fill him with awe, and he indeed revered me and stood in awe before me.

Malachi 2:7

2:7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him ²  because he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all.

Malachi 3:2

3:2 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, ³  like a launderer’s soap.

[1:7]  ¹ sn The word table, here a synonym for “altar,” has overtones of covenant imagery in which a feast shared by the covenant partners was an important element (see Exod 24:11). It also draws attention to the analogy of sitting down at a common meal with the governor (v. 8).

[2:7]  ² tn Heb “from his mouth” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[3:2]  ³ sn The refiner’s fire was used to purify metal and refine it by melting it and allowing the dross, which floated to the top, to be scooped off.